West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday alleged that former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was responsible for the deletion of 27 lakh names from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), rejecting responsibility on the part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or the Election Commission of India (ECI). The remarks came amid an ongoing political dispute over the SIR process and the status of deleted voters.
Adhikari said the deletions were decided by judicial officers under directions of the Supreme Court and claimed that Banerjee herself had approached the Supreme Court in connection with the SIR process. These are political allegations by Adhikari, while arguments concerning the SIR process continue before the Supreme Court and the Election Commission.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Adhikari said responsibility for the deletion of 27 lakh names rested with Mamata Banerjee and that the BJP or the Election Commission could not be held responsible. According to Adhikari, judicial officers had taken decisions on these cases under the directions of the Supreme Court.
He also accused Banerjee of attempting to shift responsibility for the SIR after the Assembly election results.
The Election Commission has told the Supreme Court that 27.16 lakh electors were deleted during the adjudication process in West Bengal and that 22.21 lakh appeals were subsequently filed by deleted voters seeking inclusion in the electoral rolls.
The revision of electoral rolls has remained a major point of political conflict between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal.
The TMC has alleged that the SIR process affected genuine voters and has demanded restoration of the names of eligible electors removed from the rolls. The party has also questioned the Election Commission’s procedures and the deletion of names.
BJP leaders have defended the Election Commission’s process. Adhikari said on Sunday that the deletion of 27 lakh names was not the result of a political decision by the BJP or the Election Commission. He also argued that the SIR decisions were taken with the consent of all three Election Commissioners.
The Election Commission has informed the Supreme Court that 27.16 lakh names were deleted from West Bengal’s electoral rolls through the SIR adjudication process. Of these deleted electors, 22.21 lakh filed appeals seeking restoration of their names.
The Commission said a total of 38.31 lakh appeals had been filed before the appellate tribunals. Of these, 22.21 lakh were filed by deleted voters seeking inclusion, while 16.10 lakh were filed against voters whose names had been included, seeking their deletion. The Commission has proposed increasing the number of appellate tribunals to expedite disposal of the pending cases.
A key aspect of the SIR process was the judicial review of cases involving voters whose records had been flagged for “logical discrepancies”.
In February 2026, the Supreme Court directed the appointment of judicial officers to review claims and objections concerning the SIR process. Around 700 judicial officers were subsequently involved in deciding the eligibility of about 60.06 lakh electors flagged for such discrepancies. The process resulted in the deletion of about 27 lakh names.
The Supreme Court subsequently directed the establishment of appellate tribunals comprising retired High Court judges to hear appeals against the decisions of the judicial officers. Nineteen such appellate tribunals were constituted.
Adhikari also questioned Mamata Banerjee’s opposition to the SIR process, asking why it was being opposed in West Bengal if it was acceptable in Kerala.
He referred to the Assembly election results and said the BJP had won 208 seats, while the TMC and its allies had 80 seats. He alleged that Banerjee had been unable to accept the election results.
These remarks formed part of Adhikari’s political response to the SIR dispute. The issue has become part of the broader political debate between the TMC and BJP over the electoral rolls, the Assembly election process and the role of the Election Commission.
A day before Adhikari’s remarks, Mamata Banerjee addressed a rally in Serampore, where she targeted the Election Commission and the BJP over the SIR and electoral-roll issues.
Banerjee and the TMC have repeatedly demanded restoration of the names of genuine voters who were removed from the electoral rolls.
The Election Commission has placed its SIR-related data and procedural position before the Supreme Court. It has also challenged claims seeking to directly link the deletion of names under the SIR with the results of the Assembly elections.
The functioning of the three-member Election Commission has also come under discussion amid the SIR dispute. The Indian Express reported alleged differences between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over certain SIR-related decisions.
According to the report, the two Election Commissioners recorded objections on different occasions concerning some decisions linked to the SIR process, including issues relating to voter deletions and the appeals procedure.
The Election Commission, however, has stated that differences during internal deliberations are part of the normal process and that the final decisions of the Commission were taken unanimously. The reported objections and the Commission’s official position therefore represent separate aspects of the issue.
The number of pending appeals is another significant aspect of the SIR dispute. In September, the Election Commission told the Supreme Court that 38,20,683 appeals relating to the SIR had been filed, of which 1,02,231 had been disposed of and 37,18,452 remained pending.
In a subsequent filing, the Commission reported a total of 38.31 lakh appeals, including 22.21 lakh appeals by deleted voters seeking inclusion and 16.10 lakh appeals seeking deletion of included names.
The Commission has proposed increasing the number of appellate tribunals to facilitate faster disposal of the pending appeals. Nineteen appellate tribunals are currently part of the SIR appeals process.
The SIR process in West Bengal has become a major political issue involving electoral rolls, voter rights and the role of the Election Commission. The BJP and Adhikari have defended the Election Commission and the judicial process, while the TMC has alleged that genuine voters were removed and has sought restoration of their names.
The Supreme Court and the appellate tribunals continue to deal with matters arising from the SIR process. Adhikari has attributed political responsibility for the deletion of 27 lakh names to Mamata Banerjee, while the official process concerning the deletions and individual appeals remains subject to the relevant judicial and electoral procedures.
